Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to data communication networks, and relates more particularly to remote access and debugging of port extenders in communication networks.
Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In enterprise computing, a large number of physical and virtual computing devices/information handling devices are often located in a geographically dispersed environment. To perform administrative tasks on these computing devices, remote connectivity is necessary. Traditionally, administrators and developers have used terminal servers for remote console access. Terminal servers may make remote console access available to users through one or more serial ports, such as Universal Asynchronous Receive Transmit (UART) ports. Through a serial point on a terminal server, a user can be connected to other computing devices, including network elements on the network. In the current enterprise computing environment, the traditional remote console access approach is not cost effective for managing a growing number of network elements.
For example, in a network using extended bridge technology, one controlling bridge may support up to 8K ports. This means, using 48-port port extenders as subordinating entities to the controlling bridge, the controlling bridge may need to manage about 155 port extender devices, which could be located in geographically dispersed places. One terminal server may cost in the range of a few hundred dollars. Given the vast number of port extenders that needs to be managed by a controlling bridge, there is huge capital expense. Further, each terminal server may require management in the form of a connection tuple, such as (IP address, serial port number). Again, given the vast number of port extenders that need to be managed by a controlling bridge, there is a huge operational expense associated with the use of external terminal servers for remote console access. In addition, some network technologies, such as the extended bridge technology, are capable of providing remote connectivity with a central point of control. Using out-of-band terminal servers, which require additional hardware and configuration, for remote console access goes against the concept of a centralized control.
Accordingly, there is need for a low-cost and highly responsive system and method to provide in-band console access and debugging mechanism of geographically dispersed network elements from a central location.